


So much loving under one roof

by Multifandom_damnation



Category: Power Rangers (2017)
Genre: Dialogue Heavy, Emotional Constipation, Family Bonding, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Injury Recovery, Loneliness, Major Character Injury, Self-Sacrifice, Self-Worth Issues, Sibling Love, Team Feels, Team as Family, Touch-Starved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-13 14:56:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28905231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Multifandom_damnation/pseuds/Multifandom_damnation
Summary: Trini and Zack sat back to back. BIlly was perched on the edge of the bed. Kim was lying across his calves, her legs dangling off the side. Jason had never been so happy to be surrounded by a single group of people in his life.
Relationships: Jason Lee Scott & Everyone
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	So much loving under one roof

It was mid-morning, and Jason was laid up in bed, thrumming with aches and pains. 

He had gone head-first off a mountain when battling some of Rita's residual Putties, landing heavily on the ground below. The others stayed with him while he grunted and groaned as his body tried to heal until he felt well enough to sit up and walk around. He hissed in pain as his bones knitted back together. 

Zack and Trini carried him back to the ship, his arms slung across their shorter shoulders while Kim and Billy ran point, searching for enemies on the way through the quarry.

Time flowed strangely for him. He remembered pain- broken ribs and fractured vertebrae and internal bleeding and twisted limbs. It had been a very long fall, Kim had told him while wiping blood from his torso, and if he weren't a Ranger, he would probably be dead. 

And he felt it, too. Like he was on death's door, like the Grim Reaper had swung at him and missed. His body ached in ways he had never thought possible, so much so that it took his breath away.

Billy diligently stayed by his side until he felt well enough to move about on his own, and he helped Jason leap out of the ship later that night. 

He didn't remember much of the drive home. He remembered someone rifling through his pockets. Someone gently helped him climb into the backseat of his truck. Trini started the engine. 

The familiar thrum of his beloved beat-up truck provided Jason with some small comfort as he was jostled harshly in the backseat between Kim and Billy as Trini turned corners too sharply and Zack argued with her in the front. 

When the car finally came to a stop, Jason was pulled from the door and mostly-carried through the cold until Kim could knock on a door.

The last thing he remembered was the creaking of rusty hinges, a soft, frightened gasp and his little sister's tiny voice asking, "Jason...?"

Now, as the pale morning sunlight streamed in through his window, and he slowly came back to himself, he was aware of the heavy weight of Pearl pressed against his side, snoring softly.

He felt like he had been hit full-speed by a bus. His ribs ached, his lungs felt strained and his head felt like a balloon full to bursting, among countless other things he was too tired and confused to list.

Though he didn't want to wake her, she _was_ leaning into his aching lungs and ribs, and he didn't really have much of a choice. 

"Pearl," he hissed as he wrapped an arm around her and shook her, " _Pearl_."

Gradually, she stirred against him and blearily opened her eyes, looking up at him sleepily, running a heavy hand down her face to wake herself up. She still clung to his side.

"Hi," he greeted her softly and clumsily ran his fingers through her hair.

"Hi," she replied, pulling away and sitting up a little. "You're not supposed to be awake yet."

"I can't really help that, Pearl," he laughed despite how it hurt. "What are you doing here?"

"Keeping you company," Pearl said like it was obvious. "And protecting you from the monsters under your bed."

Laughing, Jason wrapped his arm around her as much as he was able and twirled her long blond braid around his finger. "Thanks, I feel safer already."

Her smile suddenly fell away, and she grew sombre as she twiddled his necklace between her fingers. "You're a hero, you know," she said gravely. Jason felt his heart skip a beat. "Your friends told us what happened. You saved their lives."

He frowned. He didn't remember much, but he was pretty sure that he would remember something like _that_. "What do you mean?" he asked. "Did something happen to my friends?"

"No, because you saved them," Pearl said. "You're a hero."

Confused, Jason shook his head. "Look, Pearl, I'm really sore and I'm super tired, and I'm going to need you to start being clearer."

"Pearl?" said a voice from the stairs, and Jason turned to see his dad standing in the doorway. He had a steaming mug in one hand and a plate in the other. "What are you doing in here?"

"Keeping Jason company," she replied like it was obvious.

Sam couldn't help his smile. "I told you to finish your homework before lunch," he said. She groaned. "Come on, get going. Leave your brother be." When she still didn't look convinced, he sighed. "The faster you finish your homework, the sooner you can come back up here and sit with him."

Reluctantly, Pearl pulled away from Jason and climbed off his bed. "Bye, Jason."

"Bye Pearl," he laughed as she trudged from the room. Sam placed a hand on her head as she passed him.

But then Pearl was bounding away down the stairs and Jason was now painfully aware that he was alone with his dad for the first time in a long time, and that Sam was actually... _smiling?_

Finally, Jason couldn't take the awkward silence anymore and spoke up. "Can I help you?"

Chuckling, Sam pushed away from the wall and entered the room. "No, but I think I can help you, considering I've got your breakfast. You must be hungry. You didn't eat dinner last night."

Despite himself, Jason's stomach rumbled in betrayal and he held out his hand. Smiling softly, Sam helped him sit up and adjust his pillows before he sat on the edge of Jason's bed, careful to avoid his legs, and handed him the mug. Jason tried to pretend that his hand didn't shake with the new weight. He glanced at the plate resting on Sam's knee and raised an eyebrow. "And here I thought that breakfast in bed was odd. Now I'm getting _pancakes_?"

Sam smiled. "Yeah, there really was no way of talking your mother out of that one. Not that I would have tried to, mind you." Sam's smile fell slightly, and he glanced just past Jason as the mood grew sombre. "That was a very brave thing you did last night. Incredibly foolish, but incredibly brave."

In his shock, Jason nearly burnt himself on his hot coffee. "Uh," he swallowed. His mouth was suddenly dry. "What do you mean?"

Sharply, Sam looked back up at him, brows pulled into a frown, eyes tight with concern. "The car, Jason," he said. "Last night your friends said that you pushed Kim out of the way of a speeding car. She said that you took a lot of the impact, but you saved her life. You don't remember?"

Relief flooded Jason's body like hot coffee. "No, no I do remember," he said, absolutely positive that he had no such altercation with a car. "Sorry, I'm just tired." 

Immediately, Sam relaxed. "You gave us quite a scare," he said. "Pearl wouldn't stop crying, and then we couldn't get her to leave your side. She snuck in here last night after we put her to bed."

"She's a trouble maker, that one," Jason smiled. 

"Mhmm. I wonder who she gets that from," Sam looked at Jason pointedly, but his gaze was soft. There was something in his eyes that Jason hadn't seen in a very long time, since before the prank, maybe even since his last game. "My son. The hero."

"Dad, it's not that big of a deal," Jason protested weakly. "My friend needed my help, that's all. I would have done it even if a car wasn't involved. I've always been that way."

"You could have died, Jason," Sam said gently. "It's a miracle that you came out of that as well as you did."

"I'm a lot more resilient than I look, dad," Jason argued. "You saw me on the field. I can take some pretty hard hits without going down."

Again, Sam smiled. Lovingly, humorously and almost... knowingly. "I know," he said as if they were sharing a secret. Jason felt like he was under a spotlight, and wished he knew what his dad was talking about. 

Downstairs, the front door opened and shut, and moments later, Jason's mother peered her head into the room. "Oh, good, you're awake," Beverly sighed, relieved. "How are you feeling?"

Jason couldn't help but smile. "Sore, but I'm OK," he replied. "Sorry I gave you such a scare."

"Oh, don't you worry about that. I'm just glad you're alright," she smiled that smile that made Jason feel like everything was going to be OK. "Your friends are downstairs. They're keeping Pearl entertained, but they want to come up and see you."

"If you're feeling up to it," Sam interrupted, staring purposefully at his wife. 

"Yeah, send them up," Jason said. "I'd like to see them."

Smiling once more, Beverly ducked out of the room and descended back down the stairs. With a bone-weary grunt, Sam rose from the bed and placed Jason's still steaming plate of pancakes on his cluttered bedside table. "Shout if you need us," he said as he reached out to ruffle Jason's hair. "And don't strain yourself too much. You're still healing."

Swatting at his father's absent hand, Jason didn't get a chance to retort before his dad had exited the room and disappeared down the stairs.

He was alone for all of five seconds before he heard many sets of feet bounding up the stairs. The door was flung wide open, and Jason was glad to see his team standing together in the doorway.

"Jason Scott! My hero!" Kim cried before the door shut and her facade fell completely. "Jason Scott, you _dumbass_."

Behind her, Billy failed to contain his giggling as he shut the door. Kim crossed her arms over her chest as the others began to file into the room. "What do you mean?" he demanded.

"You fell off a mountain, Jason," she said sternly. "Do you know how stupid that was? The impact alone nearly killed you."

"Actually, I got hit by a car trying to save you," Jason corrected smugly. "So I don't think it's right for you to be so ungrateful."

"And to be fair to the poor guy, there really wasn't much he could do when a Puttie literally lifted him up over its head and tossed him like a ragdoll off the edge of the cliff," Zack said, moving to the bed to greet Jason with a fist-bump.

There was a long, silent pause. Then laughter bubbled up in them and all the fake-anger faded away and they all collapsed on Jason's bed in a fit of hopeless giggles that had them all in stitches.

"We're just really glad you're OK, Jason," Trini said as she rolled onto her belly. "We were really worried."

"How do you feel?" Billy asked. 

"Like I was thrown off a mountain," Jason said. "And somehow, also like I was hit by a speeding car."

Trini snorted as she ran her hands through her hair, catching on knots and tangles. "Yeah, well, Alpha was convinced that you were going to die."

"Yeah, but Alpha didn't take into account how damn stubborn you are," Zack said. He nodded towards the plate of pancakes on the side table, a familiar spark in his eyes. "Are you going to eat those?"

" _Yes_ , I'm going to eat those, and _no_ , you can't have them," Jason smacked Zack's reaching hand away. "Do you know how rare it is to get pancakes for breakfast in this house?"

Pouting, Zack let Trini pull him backwards. "You're no fun, Red."

"I'm the leader," Jason replied. "I'm not supposed to be fun."

Kim scoffed. "Right, says the adrenalin junkie who got booted from the football team because he stole a cow and hit it in the oppositions training rooms."

"God, when are you guys going to stop bringing up the damn cow?" Jason groaned.

"When it stops being funny," Billy grinned, and everyone once again erupted into giggles.

Their erratic, slap-happy giggling devolved into light-hearted silence as they got comfortable on the bed. Trini and Zack sat back to back. BIlly was perched on the edge of the bed. Kim was lying across his calves, her legs dangling off the side. Jason had never been so happy to be surrounded by a single group of people in his life. 

Billy plucked at a stray strand of fabric in his blanket. I know that we're all joking and having fun, but we really are glad that you're OK. I - _we_ \- were really worried when you hit the ground and didn't get up. I knew we're super durable and heal like Spiderman, but we all know that we can die, right? Rita proved that. I guess all I'm saying is that, for a second, I was worried that was it."

Making a face, Zack picked at his nails. "Way to bring the mood down, Blue," he said. "But you're not wrong. It was looking pretty hairy."

"But I'm alright now, though," Jason assured kindly. "So, you've got nothing to worry about."

"Yeah, _now_. But you weren't for a good while there. Even Zordon was worried about you," Kim said. "I know that you're the leader and that you think that it's your job to take those risks so we don't have to, but you really need to start taking better care of yourself."

Incredulous, Jason looked between each of their equally serious faces. "Guys, we're Power Rangers. Taking risks and jumping into dangerous situations is in our job description."

Screwing up her nose, Trini shook her head. "Maybe, but you're the only one of us who has nearly died from doing something reckless."

"I was _picked up_ by a Puttie and was _thrown off a cliff_ ," Jason spluttered. "I literally had _no_ control over that."

"Maybe," Kim said. "But this is not the first time that something like this has happened. I'm not trying to check you or anything, but I just think that you need to start taking care of yourself more and worrying about us less."

"We're capable, too," Billy said quietly. Everyone turned to look at him and slowly, he glanced up from his hands. "We can take care of ourselves without you risking your life."

Floundering, Jason looked back and forth between his friends, searching for any hint of help, but was only met by four serious, grave faces. "Guys," he faltered. "Come _on_. Zack?"

"Don't look at me, dude," Zack shook his head. "I'm with them. The less you scare the crap out of us like that, the better."

Defeated, Jason sat back against the headboard, defeated. And, frankly, a little hurt. "Oh," he said. "Alright. I guess I'll just have to try a bit harder then,"

Sighing softly through her nose, Trini reached past Kim to rest a hand on Jason's leg, hidden under the blanket and squeezed. "We're not telling you to change the way you fight, Jason. We just want you to take care of yourself before you take care of us. As Billy said- we're capable too. And believe me, if we need help in the middle of a battle, you'll hear us screaming for it."

Despite his faint embarrassment, Jason couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, OK, I guess that's true. It's just hard not helping people I care about when I know that I could do something."

"You'll figure it out. You're smart," Zack said.

Chuckling, Kim sat up from the bed a little reluctantly. "We better get going," she said. "You should be resting, and we should be getting ready for patrol tonight."

"Which you will _not_ be attending because you will be here, _healing_ ," Trini interjected when Jason opened his mouth to argue. Pouting, Jason rested back against the pillows. 

An aching sense of loneliness suddenly swelled in Jason's chest and he looked out the window in morbid embarrassment. "Actually, guys," he cleared his throat. "Would you mind staying around a bit? Keep me company?"

The team exchanged a knowing look as if they knew he would request that and it was just a waiting game to see how long it would take. "Well, I guess patrol can wait until later," Kim said as she settled back down.

"And it's not like we've got anything else on today..." Trini grinned conspiratorially.

"...or like we were always going on to spend the day with you," Zack winked. Trini elbowed him.

"So yeah, I guess we could stay with you," Billy finished. "But you've got to eat your pancakes though. Before Zack does."

Jason had to laugh. He had never experienced so much love at the same time and under the same roof before, and he had to say- he really liked the feeling. Even if he did have to get thrown off a mountain to get it.


End file.
